


Carson - Panic Attack drabble

by writehard_whumpharder



Category: Original Work
Genre: Carson Hall - Freeform, Carson series, Confusion, Fainting, Fear, Henry Morris - Freeform, Magic, Panic, Panic Attacks, Paranoia, Whump, collapse, dizzy - Freeform, oc drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 09:33:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21608530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writehard_whumpharder/pseuds/writehard_whumpharder
Summary: Carson is confused, barely remembering the night before, when he finds himself in a bad neighborhood. He calls Morris (the only person he knows with a car) who agrees to come get him. But when he tries to get Carson to the car so they can leave Carson sees something that scares him out of his mind. Is this just a regular panic attack? Or is there something darker going on.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Carson - Panic Attack drabble

"Can you come pick me up?"

Morris looked at the time and frowned, Carson wouldn't be calling him if it wasn't important. "Can't you get a taxi?"

"I don't have any money on me, and I just, need to get out here," Carson said. He stood on a street corner in a neighborhood of New York City he'd never seen before in all his time living there. It was that strange time in the early morning when it was just barely light outside and people were starting to make their way to work in a sleepy daze. A guy walked into him, nearly knocking Carson over, then had the nerve to tell him to watch where he's going. If he had some energy to spare he'd trip the guy. "Please."

"Alright, alright, where are you?" He asked. Carson heard rustling on the other line as Morris grabbed his keys and made his way out to his car.

"Um, the corner of... 69th and 54th." Carson said looking at the nearest street signs.

Morris put the address into his maps and merged in with the morning traffic. What had the kid so rattled? All he could do was get there as fast as he could and hope that Carson could take care of himself for the next 20 or 30 minutes.

Carson sat down on a bench next to the bus stop to wait. He tried to remember why he'd gone out without gloves and a hat in the first place. Though his coat kept him warm the frigid air still did a number on his nose and ears. He picked up a little lingering energy and carefully used it to heat the air around the covered bench. An older lady sitting on the opposite end seemed to relax a little, also enjoying the sudden warmth.

Two buses came and went and Carson was getting a little impatient. He didn't have enough charge left on his phone to play games so he just sat there, watching all the strange people come and go. He banged his head on the plastic wall repeatedly, just to distract himself from the turmoil within himself. He felt... confused, scared, anxious, restless. While he did remember going out last night he couldn't quite remember how he got here.

"Oh don't do that," the old lady said to him. Carson thought she would be gone by now. She must be waiting for someone.

Carson ignored her and squeezed his eyes shut, clinging to the basic rhythm it made. She scooted closer to him and touched his hand. Big mistake. Instead of being comforting the touch triggered his magic which was going a little haywire lately. He looked at her with his senses and saw before him just a faint glow. The kind of waning soul that a person had when they were near death. He jerked his hand away and stared straight ahead. That was the last thing he needed that morning.

Carson closed his eyes and went back to what he was doing until a shadow blocked the sun against his eyelids. Carson blinked wearily up at the tall man, feeling so small in front of him. A man passing by staggered to a stop next to Morris, "Hey you got any-"

He flashed his badge and the guy was quick to walk around him. The old lady gasped and covered her mouth, "Oh no, you aren't here to take my grandson away again are you?" She pleaded.

Morris sighed, "Don't worry, I already found the idiot I was looking for." He turned back to Carson, "Now get up I don't want to be late for work."

Carson stood and followed Morris obediently toward the car parked on the other side of the street. Morris had thought it would be easier to find him in a neighborhood like this. In his expensive coat Carson should have stuck out like a sore thumb, but there was something off about his eyes, he looked a little crazed, like he hadn't slept in a couple days. And his hair was in a similar state of disarray.

As Carson walked behind him a strange feeling washed over him, "What if he's still here somewhere, watching me?"

Morris stopped and turned around, "Alright, tell me right now, and be honest, are you on something?" He questioned. Carson shook his head adamantly. "Then what the hell are you talking about?"

"I remember now. I was following someone, but I lost him somewhere around here." Carson explained, looking around uneasily.

"Well it doesn't matter now, they can't be dumb enough to mess with the police," he said, raising his voice on the word "police" as a not so subtle warning to anyone around who might want to cause them trouble. They started walking again and came to a crosswalk. Just as Morris was about to step into the road he heard Carson hiss from behind him.

He whirled around, "What is it this time?"

Carson stood there with a hand over his eyes and his teeth clenched. "Nothing, it's just, my magic is going a little haywire today." He blinked his eyes and was relieved when they went back to normal. He's not used to his vision shifting so suddenly like that. Just as he was about to step into the street it happened again. Carson groaned and held his head with both hands. _What the fuck is wrong with me?_ His eyes kept flashing back and forth dizzyingly. One second it was sunny outside then the next everything grew dark and all he could see was the magical energy around him and the glow of peoples' souls. That's when it hit him.

Carson looked over at the bus stop on the adjacent street corner where three men stood waiting for the bus. But when his vision shifted again, there was nothing there. No soul, not even an outline of a person. His eyes can play tricks on him but his senses don't lie, they show the world in its most basic form. And when he looked at where the three men should be, they simply weren't there.

Carson's eyes finally went back to normal and he shrunk back, making some small noise of panic. This time Morris looked at him with genuine concern as his face went white in a matter of seconds, the fear in his eyes tripling. "D-do you see them? At the bus stop, those th-three guys." He stumbled over his words, eyes glued to the spot he was talking about.

"Yeah what about them?" Morris asked. Carson stumbled backward again and Morris caught his shoulder.

"They're not real, they're not," Carson said, nearly hysterical at this point. His whole body started trembling, and not from the cold. Morris looked at each of the guys, they appeared completely normal, they weren’t even standing in a group.

"Carson, I need you to calm down. I don't know what you see but there's nothing wrong. You might just be having a panic attack," Morris said, his voice smooth and calming. He's had some experience talking people down after traumatic events.

One of the guys stood up suddenly and Carson's eyes went wide with fear, "no, no, no, no..." He clutched Morris's coat with one hand, "I'm fucking serious, they're not real, they have no souls." Carson finally got the words out, his voice barely above a whisper.

"They're just waiting for the bus, no one is gonna hurt you." Morris said, trying again to calm him down. "Let's just get to the car, okay?" Carson wasted enough time that they'd have to wait through a whole light before it turned to walk again.

A truck passed by, hiding the men momentarily, and when it was out of the way one of the men was gone. Carson shrieked. Where could he have disappeared to in those few seconds? He could be anywhere. Carson's heart pounded in his chest and his breathing got faster and faster. Unable to scream or form words he just started making this, "nnngh" sound over and over again.

Morris still wasn't convinced anything was wrong but he kept his eyes peeled anyway, ready to reach for his gun at any moment. Something did feel strange to him, but not strange enough to send him into a full blown panic like it did Carson. At this point his whole mission was just somehow getting him to the car.

In a last ditch effort to preserve his sanity Carson tried to reason with himself that he really was just seeing things. Staying up all night must have made him paranoid. Just to be sure, he had to check again. Fighting to keep his breathing under control Carson looked at the two men still standing at the bus stop then he closed his eyes and looked at them with his magic. His heart clenched when he saw the same thing he did before, absolutely nothing. Although now that he looked at it again he swore he saw the faintest of shadows. Not only where they not alive, but the absence of life was so strong they had to be more than dead.

Carson opened his eyes again and everything went blurry. His legs turned to jelly, leaving only Morris's strong grip keeping him upright.

Without warning, the two men snapped their heads in his direction at the same exact time. Their soulless eyes met his and he heard voice, clear as day, as if someone was standing right next to him and whispering in his ear.

"Carson Hall. We need to talk."

All the tension he'd been holding in his body melted away as his eyes rolled back in his skull.


End file.
